The initiative is situated in the greater Johannesburg area in Gauteng Province. This urban area is the most densely populated and industrialised in southern Africa. Most of its food is supplied by industrial farming operations via centralised distribution systems.

The mission of the initiative is to create reliable and transparent organic assurance system for farmers and consumers to enable smallholders to participate in the benefits of the Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) and promote organic agriculture.

However, they all share their commitment to organic agriculture and to their community. The label “Natural Assurance” means the farmers production practices and records have been assessed by the Bryanston Market PGS group and are compliant with organic agriculture principles. The organisation is governed by its members, who elect a committee to manage the day-to-day affairs of the PGS, including farmers and retailers. The members of the PGS produce independently and deliver some of their products to a shared market stall at the Bryanston Market and to other retailer members of the group.

This factsheet is produced within the framework of the Avaclim project, which aims to create the necessary conditions for the deployment of agroecology in drylands. The international solidarity association CARI coordinates the Avaclim project while Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) is in charge of its implementation in South Africa.